Is this how to perform an acid bath?

602rwtq

New member
Haven't done one of these yet, but it will come up eventually. A detailer friend of mine tells it goes as follows:



1. Wash car.

2. Cover front windshield with towels (acid etches windshields).

3. Wet down car with water.

4. Spray acid wheel cleaner (mixed one part acid to one part water) on all surfaces.

5. Wait two minutes.

6. Hose off car.

7. Spray degreaser (mixed one part degreaser to four parts water) on all surfaces.

8. Wait two minutes.

9. Hose off car.



Any opinions on this technique?
 
I know there are dedicated "acid bath" products to remove things like etched on water spots and such, but I'm not sure that I would do the whole car like this. I mean yeah, it may get out the etched on water and bird poop spots (assuming that it works), but it's like using a fire hose as a water fountain... just NOT a good idea.
 
If this is for water spots you may try using distilled white vinegar and a MF applicator to agitate. Search around for an article DavidB wrote on this once.
 
602rwtq said:
Haven't done one of these yet, but it will come up eventually. A detailer friend of mine tells it goes as follows:



1. Wash car.

2. Cover front windshield with towels (acid etches windshields).

3. Wet down car with water.

4. Spray acid wheel cleaner (mixed one part acid to one part water) on all surfaces.

5. Wait two minutes.

6. Hose off car.

7. Spray degreaser (mixed one part degreaser to four parts water) on all surfaces.

8. Wait two minutes.

9. Hose off car.



Any opinions on this technique?



Have never tried doing that, and I'm not quite sure I'm

ready to. Nevertheless, the correct procedure is to degrease

first, then apply the acid. Be sure you have a good ph neutral

car shampoo, to offset any remaining acids in the paint. And

always use cold water for the wash and rinse.
 
Oh man, no way would I do that procedure! Just the extreme generality of it (no strength/dilution considerations) would scare me off. And yeah, I've never heard of doing the acidic step first.



IMO if you want to do anything of that nature you should just get a decontamination system from AutoInt or FinishKare and do it right.
 
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